Man Kills His Minor Children After Wife Elopes With Secret Lover

A man has been accused of killing his two minor daughters after his wife left him and eloped with her secret lover in Kalaburagi, Karnataka, India on Tuesday, June 28.

The accused, identified only as Lakshmikanth, a 34-year-old autorickshaw driver, allegedly murdered his daughters Soni, 11, and Mayuri, 9, after quarreling with his estranged wife, Anjali, over the custody of their four children. The kids had been staying with their maternal grandparents before the tragic turn of events.

After murdering his two daughters, the suspect allegedly hid the victims' bodies under his vehicle’s backseat and roamed around the town before surrendering to the police the next day, the Indian Express reported.

Lakshmikanth and his wife Anjali reportedly got married about 17 years ago and have four children together. However, Anjali, who had an extramarital affair, left Lakshmikanth and her children to run away with her secret lover about four months ago. Since then, Lakshmikant has reportedly suffered from serious mental stress and become an alcoholic. Meanwhile, the children were living with Anjali's parents.

On Tuesday, Lakshmikanth reportedly visited his children. However, Anjali objected to this, leading to a heated argument between the couple. Following this, Lakshmikanth took the four children in his autorickshaw for a ride around the city before allegedly proceeding to strangle his eldest daughters to death without the knowledge of his younger kids, Mohith, 5, and Shreya, 3, Times Now reported.

According to the police, several passengers boarded his autorickshaw without realizing that there were two dead bodies beneath their seats. The father surrendered to the Mahatma Basaveshwara Police Station on Wednesday morning, June 29.

According to a police officer who investigated the incident, Lakshmikanth allegedly intended to kill all four children.

“His mental health is in a bad condition. He said he was worried that his children’s lives could be spoiled if he sent them with Anjali and killed them. By the time he strangled two of his children, he got afraid and decided not to kill the other children. Unsure of what to do, he roamed around the town before surrendering,” the officer said.